A ceasefire in Gaza, set to start on Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 8:30 am (6:30 GMT), was delayed over a dispute between Israel and Hamas, reported Reuters.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the ceasefire will not begin until Hamas releases a list of the first three hostages to be freed during the day.
His office released a statement saying “The prime minister instructed the (Israeli military) that the ceasefire, which is supposed to go into effect at 8:30 am, will not begin until Israel has the list of released abductees that Hamas has pledged to provide.”
The Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, said in a statement that Hamas was not meeting its obligations and that the Israeli military would continue its attacks inside Gaza as long as the group did not meet its demands.
On its part, Hamas confirmed its commitment to the ceasefire agreement, saying that the delay in releasing the names of the hostages in the first phase was due to “technical field reasons,” without providing more details.
The ceasefire deal was supposed to end 15 months of devastating fighting between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of over 46,000 Palestinians and caused a dire humanitarian crisis.
On Wednesday, January 16, 2025, the US President, Joe Biden, announced a three-phase deal, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, that will end the fighting in Gaza, increase humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and return the remaining hostages and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
After the delay of the ceasefire on Sunday, the Israeli military struck northern and central Gaza.
